In an era where automation must keep pace with rapidly changing workforce demands and project complexity, IT-driven engineering offers a powerful solution. Introducing SIMATIC AX - a toolchain that combines best practices from software development with industrial automation. It provides software automation engineers with essential features, including native Git integration, a robust unit testing framework, and an advanced package management system, along with familiar tools like Tracing and Monitoring. Additionally, with MTS, we demonstrate how open-source frameworks and a software-defined approach to automation empower engineers and drive innovation.